


Invite Me In

by orphan_account



Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Cliche, F/F, Kissing, Shore Leave, Tumblr: imagineyourotp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-24
Updated: 2014-06-24
Packaged: 2018-02-06 02:19:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1840735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Christine and Nyota share a cabin on shore leave.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Invite Me In

**Author's Note:**

> im so popular that i sent my work to not one, but two people to be beta'd, and got a reply from neither. huh, bet youre jealous, right? but, yeah. sorry for any mistakes- all my fault (havent checked over it properly either, because my computer is going so slow, and i am a patient woman but i cannot be arsed). based on two prompts from the imagineyourotp tumblr blog. i didnt bookmark/copy them, and cant be bothered to find them, but the idea did come from there.
> 
> the title came from alone together by fall out boy, because i am an unoriginal loser who cant do titles.

The Enterprise had been patrolling the Neutral Zone for weeks- far too long, in Christine's opinion. It was one of the most simultaneously boring and stressful things to do. There was a constant threat of attack by Romulans, but they never were attacked, so it just resulted in boring hours spent doing nothing in Medbay.

 

This was why she, and all of the Enterprise crew, couldn't be more overjoyed when the captain announced their upcoming shore leave.

 

Apparently, another ship was to replace them, and they had been granted three days of shore leave on a planet with few inhabitants, but which was used mainly for tourism. It was densely wooded, filled with small cabins, and the occasional town or city, all of which had at least one hotel, for those who didn't want to be somewhere quite so isolated.

 

Star Fleet had deemed it safe, having allowed another four ships before them use it as place for shore leave, with no one getting more than a scraped knee from falling over. Due to the large forests, it was required that everyone stay in groups of two or more, and keep their communicators on them, but they had no other restrictions.

 

Christine sat down in the mess hall, next to McCoy, Rand, and two other nurses: Richards and Wood. Uhura's shift would soon end, and she would undoubtedly join them.

 

Sure enough, she walked into the mess, smiling brightly and giving Christine a small wave as she spoke to the replicator. Chris returned it, watching her walk with her tray to sit beside her.

 

Nyota bumped their shoulders together in a quiet show of friendship. "Hey, Chris!" she said enthusiastically, then turned to the others and greeted them, too. "Chris, Janice, how does a cabin between the three of us sound for shore leave?"

 

Their shifts had been clashing for a fair while now, meaning they hadn't talked much since they had first been posted at the Neutral Zone. "That'd be great. I've missed you two," Chris said, only becoming more excited for when they would finally get off this ship in two days time.

 

They turned their attention to Rand, who looked regretful. "Sorry, but me and Gene were going to share one," she said, nodding at Richards to indicate who Gene was.

 

Nyota grinned cheekily. "Oh, you were?" she asked. "I suppose you'll be-"

 

Janice kicked her gently under the table, blushing. "Shut up!" She was laughing along side Chris and Nyota, though.

 

"It'll just be us two then, huh?" Chris said, making it into a question so Nyota could back out if she wanted.

 

"It seems that way, doesn't it?" she replied, voice jokingly suggestive before she laughed again. "Well, I don't think we'll spend our time together like Janice and Gene, but we'll still have fun." She gave Janice a sly look, only getting a mouthed crude insult in return.

 

Chris sighed at her empty tray, pulling a face. "I'd best leave. My next shift's going to start soon. We can watch a movie in my quarters at 2100 tonight, though?" she asked hopefully, directing the last bit exclusively to Nyota.

 

"Of course." Nyota planted a parting kiss on Chris's cheek before she could leave. It didn't mean anything, other than a show of platonic affection. She did this with most of her close friends- Janice, Jim, Leonard, Sulu, and she would probably kiss Spock, too, were it not for his stoic Vulcan ways.

 

Even with all of this knowledge, her heart still fluttered at the warmth of her mouth, the way her hair tickled her nose, the imagined imprint of lipstick. Chris would have thought about it more, but when McCoy's entry into Medbay made her jump and knock a PADD of her desk, she berated herself and forced herself to concentrated on what little work she had.

 

It meant nothing, she reminded herself as she picked up the fallen PADD.

 

 

***

 

 

They were on shore leave. Finally. Chris and Nyota hadn't seen each other again since after they had watched the movie together in Chris's quarters. The movie had been entertaining enough, but she had grown distracted after Nyota fell asleep, lying down on the bed next to her.

 

Chris had waited until the end of the movie before waking her- if she was tired enough to fall asleep mid-movie, it would likely be beneficial to her health to allow her to rest for a while.

 

It had taken a few seconds of being timidly shaken by Christine to awaken her, at which point she made a few sleepy whines. It was about a minute before she was fully aware again, and apologised for being a terrible guest.

 

Now, they stood in the doorway of the cabin they had been beamed down to, each holding a small bag containing a few changes of clothes, other necessities, and books. People were so often getting themselves hurt on the Enterprise that Chris rarely had time to indulge in reading actual physical books, rather than discreetly from her PADD during lulls in the flow of injured crewmembers, but she enjoyed it when she could. She was sure her friend was in a similar situation, being the most talented linguistics on board.

The cabin was evidently relatively new, but it was old fashioned, with a lock which needed to be opened by a metal key, and an actual log burning fire. It did have electrical heating, too, but the log fire, complete with love seat and thick rug, was far cosier. Upon further exploration, they found a small eating area and replicator, and a bedroom with ensuite bathroom. Just one bedroom, with a king sized bed and red, velvety sheets.

 

Nyota and Chris exchanged a glance. The love seat was far too small to sleep on, leaving only two options: either they shared the bed, or one of them slept on the floor.

 

"I'll take the floor," Nyota offered, ignoring the way Chris was already shaking her head.

 

"No; I'll take the floor. I fall asleep very easily, it won't be any trouble." They spent about a minute going back and forth insisting they would take the floor before Nyota finally gave in. Chris smiled widely, leaning in hesitantly to place a kiss on her cheek, just as Nyota had done so many times to her.

 

Even beneath her dark skin, the bright pink blush showed up slightly. Christine couldn't help but feel a quiet kind of pride.

 

"Hey, while we're around some real trees, do you feel like going for a walk? It's a nice day," Nyota asked, peeking through the window to confirm the sky to be nearly cloudless, aside from a layer of thick, grey clouds off in the distance.

 

"Yes. That sounds pleasant," she said, pulling out a jacket from her bag. "Let's go."

 

They wandered the woods for more than an hour, just talking to one another and listening to the native wildlife, the chirps and tweets not unlike that of the birds found on Earth.

 

They stopped to sit in a small glade of grass, covered with bright orange and purple flowers. It wasn't until the sun was dropping lower in the sky, signally the approach of sunset, that Christine suggested they head back.

 

"That'd probably be best," Nyota agreed, motioning to their left before saying, "We came from over there, right?"

 

Chris nodded. Unless they came from the right? No. No, they didn't come from left or right. They came from straight ahead, didn't they? Shit. She glanced at Nyota, but she was already walking away, seeming confident of their choice. Chris jogged to catch up.

 

When the sky was dappled with all different shades of purples and blues and oranges, but they still hadn't seen their cabin, Nyota stopped and faced her. "We're lost, Chris."

 

They were most definitely lost. It was quickly becoming cold, enough so that both Christine was shivering even with her jacket, unconsciously moving closer to share body heat. With the sun dropping further below the horizon, it became difficult to see the tree roots and fallen branches littering the floor.

 

Chris looked around, hoping they would see a light streaming through the trees. "Have you got your communicator? We can get the Enterprise to beam us back to the cabin," Chris suggested, checking her own pockets to try find her comm. Empty.

Nyota looked guilty when she realised her pockets were empty, too. "Well, maybe we should just keep walking? Someone's cabin has to be near by..." she trailed off, eyes widening as they heard several noises, like a growl and the cracking of branches.

Without saying anything, they grasped each others hands and sprinted away from the sounds. Neither were sure how long it was before they reached their cabin, panting and shivering. They hadn't noticed, but at some point as they had run, it had began to pour, drenching their clothes and hair.

 

With only one layer of clothing to protect her, Nyota looked very cold. "Nyota? Hey, let's go inside and change clothes. A shower doesn't sound like a bad idea, either, huh?" she said, unlocking the door.

 

They rushed in, thankful to be inside again. Nyota stripped her clothes off as Chris lit the fire, logs and kindling already having been put in place earlier. "I'll get you a dry change of clothes. Go take a shower," Chris told Nyota, being careful not to look at her naked body. Nyota nodded, rushing off to the bathroom.

 

It was a good thing Chris had been going to sleep on the floor, anyway. Nyota wasn't in any kind of danger, but she'd probably appreciate the comfortable bed and warm sheets when she went to sleep. Chris collected the flannel pyjamas from Nyota's bag, and her own hoodie, in case she was still cold.

 

Nyota emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, looking much better, and with a towel wrapped around her body. "Thanks," she said, smiling as she dropped the towel and changed, pulling on the hoodie over the thin flannel. Since Nyota was a fair but shorter than Chris, the sleeves covered her hands, and the hem came halfway down her thighs.

 

Chris shook her head. "It was no problem. Do you want to go to sleep now, or watch a movie or something?" She tried to make it clear in her intonation that she as by no means required to do anything but sleep, and from the look on Nyota's face, she got it.

 

"I'm quite tired. I'll go to sleep now," she said, getting into the bed, leaving space on one side. There was a hiatus before she said, "You don't have I sleep in the floor."

 

Chris didn't respond for awhile, long enough for Nyota to continue with, "We're close enough friends to share a bed together. What's the worst that could happen, anyway?"

 

Chris sighed, nodding. Nyota grinned, already knowing she had won. "You're right," she agreed, changing into her nightwear before climbing in beside her best friend.

 

After all the running they had done, they both fell asleep almost instantly. They awoke slower, both reluctant to do much but lie down. It took quite a long time for Chris to realise the warm body tangled around hers, head resting on her heart, was Nyota.

If she had any less self control, she would have jumped and woke up Nyota. Instead, she gently slid out of the bed, resenting the way her chest still felt echoes of Nyota's heat, heart thumping quickly at the intimacy.

 

She showered and brushed her teeth as fast as she could, then replicated a mug of coffee for them both. She quietly called Nyota's name to wake her up, telling her she had coffee when she got a questioning grumble in response.

 

Nyota sat up and accepted the mug, mumbling a 'thanks' and smiling as brightly as any non-morning person could during the hours before noon. She was doing far better than Doctor McCoy had ever managed, that was for sure.

 

Nyota rolled out of the bed, stretching and yawning as soon as she was standing up. The hem of the hoodie he had borrowed rode up her hips, exposing a glimpse of her tight abs, before she pulled the hem down into place.

 

Christine looked away quickly, feeling guilty for staring, and relieved that Nyota was too sleepy to notice. She padded into the sitting room, where the ashes from yesterday remained in the fireplace. "Do you want me to light the fire?" Chris asked, looking at it.

 

Nyota nodded. "That'd be nice. And when I'm properly awake, I'll do something to help. It's no good, you slaving around with no help."

 

Chris smiled, cleaning out the ashes and setting up the new fire before dropping a lot match into it. "Is it too early to watch a movie?" she asked, glancing at the chronometer to see it was only eleven in the morning. Well, perhaps 'only' wasn't the correct word to use, as she had woken up less than an hour ago. But for movie-watching, it was quite early.

 

Nyota shook her head. "It's never too early to watch a movie," she said. "You can pick."

 

Chris spent awhile choosing a movie, talking with her friend to pass the time as she did so. Eventually, she settled upon an old movie from the mid-twentieth century, called the Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, about some delinquent who could run fast, and didn't like authority.

 

It was a bit violent at points, and, though the dialect was, at times, a bit confusing, Chris found herself engrossed. She almost didn't notice when Nyota rested her head against her shoulder, slowly lacing their fingers together, as though the speed at which it was done would stop Chris from noticing.

 

She humoured her, partially for her own sake. Chris couldn't deny have hopeless she was to deny anything from Nyota, but shows of intimacy, no matter how platonic it was, never failed to make Chris feel pathetically in love.

 

She was getting distracted- it was a good movie, though, so she endeavoured to pay attention once again. By the end, she was resisting the urge to shout at the screen. They both spent a while just staring, not quite sure how to respond. It was a great ending, but almost anticlimactic at the same time. Any other ending would have been boring and predictable, though.

 

They turned their heads to look at each other, which, due to their close proximity, resulted in their faces almost touching. Chris glanced away from Nyota's eyes, down at we lips. It was just for a split second, but when she had to break eye contact to do so, it was painfully obvious.

 

She wanted to apologise or say something, but lips pressed against hers before she could begin to say anything.

 

Briefly, Chris's eyes widened, before cautiously closing, reacting automatically to the kiss. Her heart was drumming, and it was hardly a kiss so much as a dry press of lips-on-lips. She heard a huffing sound, and warm breath on her face- Nyota laughing, lips curling upwards.

 

It was about then that Chris realised she should probably respond. Timidly, she tilted her head slightly so their noses would be less likely to bump, and opened her mouth ever so slightly, gently sucking Nyota's lower lip into her mouth.

 

Nyota seemed pleased, flicking her tongue across Chris's lips as soon as her lip was released. The kiss deepened, tongues tangling with each other, hands grasping waists, curled around a jaw, or buried in thick hair, dishevelling it in an infinitely pleasing way. They pulled apart eventually, having at some point rearranged themselves so Chris's legs were up on the love seat, lying back against the arm of the sofa as Nyota perched on her lap.

 

They were panting quite heavily, grinning at one another, faces still close. "That was nice," Nyota purred.

 

"Nice," she repeated with a laugh. "Thanks."

 

Nyota laughed, too, then stood up, using one hand to aid Christine in getting up. "Well, I don't know about you, but I haven't eaten all day. Want to get lunch."

 

"Lunch sounds good," Chris said, starting to feel a bit worried about the way she had seemed to be dismissing their- the thing that just happened. She debated mentioning it, and how to bring it up, but Nyota just stepped close to her, smiling up at the considerably taller woman.

 

"Maybe we could carry this on later? Because I enjoyed that a lot. And I like you a lot, too," she murmured.

 

Chris nodded, shoulders relaxing. "I like you a lot, too," she replied, feeling as though she was understating it. Well, it seemed like they were, maybe, in a relationship now. They'd have time to work their way up to bigger words, stronger emotions. Chris grinned.


End file.
